The NYT says: It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition, and deeply rooted barriers.

The impact of gender is hard to pin down decisively. But after years of biting their tongues, believing their ranks would swell if they simply worked hard, many senior women in business are concluding that the barriers are more deeply rooted and persistent than they wanted to believe.

Google launched Project Aristotle to discover the perfect mixture of skills, backgrounds, and traits that produce successful teams. After conducting 200-plus interviews, they pinpointed the following key characteristics:

We need to start treating innovation like other business disciplines — as a set of tools that are designed to accomplish specific objectives. Just as we wouldn’t rely on a single marketing tactic or a single source of financing for the entire life of an organization, we need to build up a portfolio of innovation strategies designed for specific tasks.

Ask yourself: How well can we define the problem? And how well can we define the skill domain(s) needed to solve it?

Using data to its full potential is much more about management than technology, Harvard Business Review says. It can present opportunities for profit and competitive advantage, from product improvements to new revenue streams and possible industry game changers.

As you put your data to work, you’ll find that some approaches provide greater value than others.